Irish actor Cillian Murphy says he signed on to star in the psychological thriller “Red Lights” because he loved not being able to predict the story’s twists and turns when he first read the script.
In the film by writer-director Rodrigo Cortes, Murphy plays Tom Buckley, a physicist who investigates and debunks reports of paranormal incidents. Sigourney Weaver plays his professional partner Martha Matheson, while Robert De Niro plays Simon Silver, the famous psychic Tom becomes obsessed with trying to prove a fraud, and Elizabeth Olsen plays Tom’s girlfriend, Sally Owen. Rounding out the cast are Joely Richardson and Toby Jones.
“It was a great script. I couldn’t really predict where it was going. Unfortunately, most scripts these days you can kind of tell where they’re heading,” the 36-year-old Douglas, Co. Cork, native told the Irish Echo in a recent phone interview.
Best known for his work in the Irish independent films “Disco Pigs,” “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” “Intermission,” “Breakfast on Pluto” and “Perrier’s Bounty,” as well as the Hollywood blockbusters “Inception,” “28 Days Later,” “Batman Begins” and “Red Eye,” the married father of two children said he was attracted to playing Tom Buckley in “Red Lights,” in part, because the character was searching for the truth, which is something he tries to do in real life through his acting.
“It’s a film about self-acceptance. He’s trying to accept who he is and trying to know himself. Anybody could identify with that,” he explained.
Although Murphy was raised Catholic, he told Scotland’s Daily Record in 2007 his beliefs have become atheistic as he’s grown older. Asked if he can relate to someone like Buckley, who always has to know the answer of everything, or if he personally is comfortable thinking the world still holds some mystery, the actor told the Irish Echo: “I’m a curious person and I would hope that I am a rational person, as well. But I’m not a cynical person. So, that’s what I hope my approach to stuff like [in the movie] would be.”
Being the son of educators in real life helped Murphy prepare to enter the world of academia, at least on the big screen, he said.
“My mom and dad were both teachers and my granddad was a headmaster and I had a lot of aunts and uncles who were teachers and I recently played a teacher in another film, so I guess it’s in my DNA, perhaps. But I know I could never do it for real. I did not have the patience or skills for it,” he confessed. “I think teaching is a vocation and you need to really want to do it. It needs to be a drive within you and I didn’t feel that growing up.”
Murphy said another aspect he loved about making “Red Lights” was the fact he had two terrific leading ladies – Weaver and Olsen.
“They were very cool ladies, both of them, and the three of us got on very well,” he recalled. “I was very privileged to work with Sigourney; she’s a hero of mine, and also legend. And Elizabeth Olsen is such a phenomenal actress for someone so young. She keeps proving with every film how brilliant she is.”
So, what was it like locking horns with De Niro on screen?
“The man is a legend, also, and, of course, a hero of mine,” Murphy said. “I couldn’t believe I was in a film with one of them, let alone both [De Niro and Weaver.] They couldn’t have been warmer and more generous to me. It was something I’ll never forget.”
While his resume is filled with great movies of varying budgets both from back home and in America, the actor insisted he doesn’t abide by any particular formula when it comes to choosing projects.
“It’s really kind of random. I really don’t have any kind of strategy or master plan. I want to try and do good work and I think you can find good work in the independent [film] system and you can find good work in the studio system. And they shouldn’t be [mutually] exclusive.”
One project he can’t wait to start is Brendan Gleeson’s long-gestating screen adaptation of Flann O’Brien’s novel, “At Swim-Two-Birds,” which is expected to co-star Michael Fassbender, Colin Farrell, Gabriel Byrne and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
“I’m very excited about that and he’s got a great gang of actors for that movie and we’re all thrilled to be attached to it,” Murphy said of what would be beloved Gleeson’s big-screen directorial debut. “We’re not shooting it this year. I think he’s still in the process of raising the money for it, but as soon as he says, ‘Go,’ we’ll all be there. … Brendan is one of my favorite people in the world. I’ve done five films with Brendan and I feel like I can call him a friend. There’s kind of nothing Brendan Gleeson can’t do as an actor and you know every film he’s in, his bit is going to be brilliant.”
“Red Lights” opens in U.S. theaters July 13.
